Gilbert, Avery power Brevard softball to quarterfinals

Friday

May 17, 2013 at 11:30 PM

The Brevard Lady Blue Devils have been wanting a third shot at Pisgah, and now they've got it.

By DEAN HENSLEYTimes-News Staff Writer

BREVARD — The Brevard Lady Blue Devils have been wanting a third shot at Pisgah, and now they've got it.Aquaisha Avery led off Friday's third-round 2-A state playoffs with a solo home run, and freshman pitcher Casey Gilbert shut down the Bandys' offense, as the Lady Devils won 3-1 to advance to Tuesday's 2-A state quarterfinals.Their opponent will be Pisgah (18-4-1), which narrowly defeated Brevard twice this year."The one good thing about our next opponent is that we already know our next opponent ... very well," Brevard coach David McNeill said. "I think we'll have something for them."The last time the two met was on May 2 at Pisgah, and the Lady Black Bears won 1-0. The other meeting was back in early April in Brevard, a game Pisgah won 6-2.The Lady Blue Devils have put those two losses behind them as they continue to make school history with every win. They are now 21-3, and Gilbert is a major reason. She upped her record to 18-3 on Friday after going seven innings and allowing a run off six hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.She had a stellar defense to back her up. Three standout plays were third baseman Kayla Byrd's snag of a sharp grounder to rob a hit, right fielder Micheala Harbin's rundown of a pop foul that she caught as she ran into the fence and catcher Jacksie Owen's pop fly catch at the fence behind home.The Lady Blue Devils, the WNC Athletic Conference No. 2 seed, got all their runs in the first inning, with the two other runs coming in thanks to throwing errors by the Lady Trojans.Four Brevard hitters had multiple hits: Avery (2-for-4, home run, RBI), McKenzie McNeil (2-for-3), Katie Finnan (2-for-3) and Harbin (2-for-3).Bandys' lone run came in the sixth inning, thanks to an RBI single by Shelby Weddington.The Lady Trojans, the Catawba Valley No. 2 seed, finish the year at 12-9.